Cigarette case



Oct. 21 1924.

E. B. HOUGH CIGARETTE CASE Filed Sept. s. 1923 2 sheets-shes: 1

13 INVENTOR 14 BY 4W4 allay MJML' ATTORNEY Oct. 21 1924.

E. B. HOUGH CIGARETTE CASE FiledhSept. 8, 1923 2 She9ts-$heet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 21, 1924.

UNITED STATES EDWARD B. HOUG I-I, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR TO WIGHTMAN AND HOUGH COMPANY, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, A CORPORATION OF RHODE ISLAND.

PATENT OFFICE.

CIGARETTE CASE.

Application filed September 8, 1923. Serial No. 661,575.

To all whomv it may c oncemi:

Be it known that I, EDWARD B. HoUcH, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, have invented 'certain new and useful Improvements in Cigarette Cases, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cigarette cases and containers of that general type.

Some of the important objects of the invention are to support the cigarettes or other articles in the case in such a way that they will be automatically lifted to clear the bezel or edge of the case when the case is opened and will be automaticallylowered down into the case when the case is closed.

Further objects are to retain the supported articles associated with the body or bottom portion of the case when the case is opened and thus positioned for ready removal and to hold the entire body of cigarettes orother articles with both ends exposed so that they may be pushed endwise and thus be discharged without handling the ends which touch the lips.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification, a simple and practical embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the form of a cigarette case, but it is to be understood that the structure and the uses to which the invention is put may vary without departure from the true spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter defined and claimed.

Figure 1 in the drawings referred to is a perspective view of the case in open position and illustrating the manner of ejecting or serving the cigarettes.

Figure 2 is a broken plan view of the open case.

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view of the open case as-on substantially the plane of line 3-3 of Figure 2 and showing in dotted lines how the cigarette is guided clear of the bezel.

Figure 4 is a similar view of the closed case showing the articles on their movable support forced down into the case.

Figure 5 is a longitudinal sectional view on line 55 of Figure 4.

Figures 6 and 7 are longitudinal sectional views on line 6-6 of F igure 2.

Figure 8 is an enlarged detail fragmentary view.

The case herein disclosed comprises the two cooperating shallow lids or covers 10, 11 hingedly connected together at one end by means of a pintle 12 and having suitable spring means for throwing them open when the latch 13, which normally holds them closed, is released by pressing on the button 14c.

The two case sections may be of any desired or ornamental shape and while actual- 1y they may be of the same depth and counterparts in other respects, the lower half 10 may be considered as the body or bottom of the case and the upper half 11 as the cover.

Both the body and cover sections are shown formed at their meeting edges with inwardly extending flanges or bezels 15, 16.

To prevent the bezel about the edge of the body section from interfering with the extraction of the cigarettes, a tray such as indicated at 17 is provided for supporting the cigarettes and this tray is mounted so that it will move freely up and down in the body or bottom section of the case. At the hinge end of the case this tray is shown as guided and confined by links 18 pivotally engaged at their outer ends on the hinge pintle 12 and at their inner ends pivotally engaged on pins 19, 20, held in loops 21 turned over at the end of the tray; and as confined at the opposite end by lugs or hooks 22 turned down from the edge of the bezel and extending through loops 23 at that end of the tray. Bowed springs 24 held in loops 25 on the back of the tray exert their force against the bottom of the case to thrust the tray upwardly or outwardly to the limits permitted by the pivoted links 18 and the confining hooks 22.

The tray is thus yieldingly supported so that it can be depressed into the case and so lower the cigarettes the full depth of the case, below the bezel or surrounding edge and on the other hand, when freed from restraint, will be bodily lifted or projected to raise the cigarettes out of the bottom, to a level where they will clear the bezel.

To hold the cigarettes in orderly relation substantially parallel with the hinge, the tray is shown as corrugated to provide shallow transverse seats or grooves 26, and a spring pressed arm 27 is shown mounted on the pivot pin 20 and arranged to extend in holding engagement over the articles seated in the grooves.

Vhen the cover is closed, the tray is forced down into the case by the engagement of the under side of the cover with the retaining arm and the entire roup of cigarettes is thus lowered fully down into the bottom of the case. T o relieve the cigarettes of some of the pressure in this lowering operation the cover may be constructed with shoulders 28 overstanding the pivot links and arranged to bear on and force these links downwardly as the cover is closed. In Figures 4: and 5 it will be seen that in the closed condition of the case the tray and the supported articles will be held closely confined and prevented from shaking or rattling. It will also be evident that with this construction, where the full depth of the case is utilized for the storage of the cigarettes, the

case can be made quite thin, a much desired feature in articles of this character.

When the case is opened, the supporting tray springs up into the elevated position illustrated in Figures 3 and 6, thereby lifting the cigarettes or other articles to a position where they will clear the bezel or edge of the case. As in this elevated position both ends of the cigarettes are exposed, the same may be readily removed by simply pushing them endwise oil the tray, after the manner illustrated in'Figure 1, and as the tray in this elevated relation is held confined to the body of the case, so that it occupies a definite fixed position, the serving of the cigarettes may be effected entirely with the fingers of the one hand. The upward thrust of the tray, in the construction illustrated, assists in the opening of the cover because of the engagement of the pivoted links with the shoulders 28 on the under side of the cover.

The down-turned hooks or lugs 22 which confine the one end of the tray preferably terminate short of the bottom of the case, as indicated in Figure 7, so as to enable the loops 23 being disengaged therefrom by tilting this end of the tray downwardly while theopposite end of the tray stands in its elevated position. When the outer end of the tray is thus unhooked from its confining means, the tray may be swung upwardly clear out of the bottom section,so as to eX- pose the back of the tray and-the bottom of the case for cleaning purposes or the like.

W hat I claim is:

1. A case of the character disclosed comprising hinged body and cover sections, a traywithin'the case, a lug and loop connection between one end of the tray and the body of the case, a pivoted link at the opposite end of the tray pivotally connected with the body of the case and spring means at the back of the tray for bodily lilting the same to the extent permitted by the lug and loop connection and the pivoted link structure.

2. A combination as in claim 1 in which the lug is short enough to be cleared of the loop when the one end of the tray is fully depressed into the body section and in which the pivoted link at the opposite end of the tray can swing to permit sufficient lateral shifting of the tray to effect clearanceof the lug and loop connection so that the tray can be swung up out of the body section about the pivoted link as a hinge.

8. A case of the character disclosed comprising hinged body and cover sections, an articlesupporting tray resiliently supported in the body section and depressible thereinto upon the closing of the cover and a shoulder on the cover section overstanding a part C( T1 nected with the tray to automatically depress the tray into the body section upon closing the cover and without a) 1 in pressure tov a: l

articles supported on. the tray.

l. A case of the character disclosed comprising hinged body and cover sections, a tray within the case, a hooked connection between the body section and one end of the tray enabling limited up and down movement of the tray within the body section and disengageable at the end of one of such movements upon relative lateral shifting of the tray and body section, connecting means between the opposite end of the tray and body section permitting up and down movement of the tray and the lateral movement requisite to efiect disengagement'at the first end of the tray and-spring means tor yieldingly supporting the tray in upraised condition with the detachably hooked connections engaged.

5. A case of the character disclosed comprising hinged body and cover sections, a

tray within said case, connections at opposite ends of the tray loosely confining the same in the body section and constructed to enable up and down bodily movements of the tray in the body section and spring means on the back of the tray bearing against the bottom of the body section to yieldingly thrust the tray upwardly to the extent permitted by the connections engaged with the opposite ends of the tray.

6. A combination as in claim 5 in which the spring means includes a bowed spring element having a sliding bearing engagement at its opposite ends with the bottom of the body section and in which the tray has a loop pressed downwardly from the back of the same through which the intermediate 121) portion of the b o-wed spring element is 8. A case of the character disclosed comprising hinged body and cover sections, a supporting tray, links pivotally confining one end of the tray, means for confining the opposite end of the tray to a limited bodily movement in the body of the case and spring means for elevating the tray in the body section to the extent permitted by the pivoted links and the confining means aforesaid, the cover section being provided with shoulders overstanding the pivoted links to depress the latter as the cover is closed.

9. A case of the character disclosed having a body section with a bezel and a hinged cover cooperating with said body section, a lug at one end of the case extending from the bezel down into the body of the case, a tray within the body of the case having a loop at one nd engaged by said lug and a pivoted link at the opposite end of the tray p-ivotally connected with the body of the case.

10. A case of the character disclosed having a body section with a bezel and a hinged cover cooperating with said body section, a lug at one end of the case extending from the bezel down into the body of the case, a tray within the body of the case having a loop at one end engaged by said lug, a pivoted link at the opposite end of the tray pivotally connected with the body of the case and spring means at the back of the tray for bodily lifting the same to the extent permitted by the confining lug and pivoted link structure.

11. A structure as in claim 9 in which the lug terminates short of the bottom of the case so as to permit the tray to be shifted about the pivoted link as-a supporting center for the purpose of clearing the loo-p of the confining lug.

12. A cigarette case having hinged body and cover sections, links pivoted at the hinge end of the body section, a cigarette holding tray pivoted to the free ends of said links and having cigarette receiving grooves disposed substantially parallel to the hinge, said tray having loops at the opposite free end of the same, confining lugs at the free end of the body section and extending clownwardly into the body section through the loops and spring means confined between the back of the tray and the bottom of the body section. v

13. A case of the character disclosed comprising hinged body and cover sections, an article supporting tray in the body section, spring means for resiliently supporting said tray, interengaging connections on the body and one end of the tray for detachably retaining said end of the tray movably confined to the body and pivotal connections for movably confining the opposite end of the tray in the body adapted to enable suflicient movement of the tray to permit disengagement of the detachable connections securing the first mentioned end of the tray in the body.

Signed at Providence, in the county of Providence and State of Rhode Island, this twenty-fifth day of August, A. D. 1923.

EDWARD B. HOUGH. 

